Happy Friday (or the wee morning of Saturday)! It's Labour Day weekend which means no work on Monday. So to start the long weekend, we decided (last minute) to head to the Richmond Night Market.
After work (5:00 PM), we grabbed groceries at No Frills. Then, we went home to drop off our groceries. Afterwards, we returned three books I borrowed from the library, then we rode Bus 99. Before entering the Canada Line station, we stopped by RBC to get some cash for the Richmond Night Market. Then, we entered Broadway City Hall Station and took the train to Bridgeport Station.
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| We're starting our long weekend at the Richmond Night Market. |
From there, we walked to the Richmond Night Market. We went straight to the sign where it said Zoom Pass Entrance Only. Before we reached the entrance, a family of four asked us if we would get a Zoom pass. We said yes, and they asked if we wanted to be part of their party of six, and we paid them $12.00 for it. Not a bad deal.
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| Zoom Pass Entrance |
A Zoom Pass would be like buying six tickets (meaning we'll be able to come back multiple times or share it with others) OR if you're a group of six, you can enter all at once, which we did.
Thank God that we got there at that time and the family saw us. I hope they had as much fun as we did.
We went straight to the food stalls to look at all the food options, and there were plenty. The last time I was at RNM was July 2016 with my sisters, and I remember it being packed, so in my mind, I wanted to get food that I wanted to try while there was still no lineup.
Takoyaki
I remember seeing two (maybe three) stalls selling takoyaki, and we purchased the octopus one. They have different possible fillings for their takoyaki, like scallops, shrimp, bacon, or mushroom.
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| Takoyaki |
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| One of the two (or maybe three) Takoyaki stalls |
Fish Sticks
My favourite item we had tonight was the fish sticks. Its crispy outside and delicately soft white meat inside were mindblowing, and it's pretty easy to eat while walking around.
The fish sticks are inspired by the fried fish cakes in Taiwan, and one of my favourite Taiwanese food items is the salt & pepper popcorn chicken. If you can't decide which flavour to get, Salt & Pepper is still the best. Halfway through the Fish Stick, I wanted vinegar to dip it in like fish & chips.
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| Fish Sticks stalls |
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| Salt and Pepper Fish Sticks |
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| Teri Mayo Fish Sticks |
Chendol Icy
After the fried fish, I wanted something to drink, and plenty of stalls focused on drinks. So when I spotted Chendol from the Icy Bar (Van-City #1 Taiwanese Shaved Ice), I just had to get it.
We had Chendol once in Singapore, and I will forever remember it. It's like Filipino halo-halo but with fewer ingredients, meaning it's drinkable.
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| Chendol Icy from Icy Bar |
Top 10 Popular
We walked around to see the rest of the stalls and spotted the "Top 10 Popular September 2022" in at far left corner when you entered (near the Rotato). Hubby doubted if a metric was used to create the list or if the vendors paid for a spot. Either way, that list helps.
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| Top 10 Popular September 2022 in Richmond Night Market |
When walking around and seeing so many options makes you undecided, I recommend checking the list and using it as a guide on what to get. That's what we did, and we have no regrets.
Xinjiang Style Lamb Bun
After seeing the list, we went straight to Chef James Xin Jiang Man and ordered one Xinjiang-Style Lamb Bun. The smell of cumin and tenderness of the perfectly cooked lamb is mindblowing. The lamb is chewy and a perfect match for the soft and tender pillowy buns. Where can I get this year-round?
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| Xinjiang Style Lamb Bun |
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| Chef James Xin Jiang Man |
Matcha Mochi Donut
Another food on the list is the Mochi Donut from Mochido, and we got the matcha. The inside was chewier than what you would expect from a typical donut. Also, the dough seems different (one way or another), making it softer than most donuts.
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| Matcha Mochi Donut from Mochido |
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| Mochido Food Stall |
Pork and Chicken Skewers
The pork skewers from NTM Thai Street Grill remind me so much of the Filipino pork barbecue, which is sweet and savoury. NTM also sells it with rice, and I would happily eat ten of the pork skewer with rice. Hmm, childhood memories coming back.
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| NTM Thai Street Grills |
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| Pork and Chicken Skewers |
Spicy Salmon Sushi Tacos
Imagine your favourite sushi served in a taco format with fried, lightly battered seaweed as the taco shell, and that's what we got from Taco Nori. First, their sushi rice is perfect. Then, the salmon is delicious too, but the fried seaweed binds everything together.
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| Taco Nori Stall |
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| Spicy Salmon Sushi Taco from Taco Nori |
Red Bean Taiyaki
This is not part of the top ten list, but I want taiyaki every time I see it. We chose the red bean flavour because it seems more traditional and goes well with the fish-shaped waffle.
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| The Taiyaki Stall |
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| Red Bean Taiyaki |
After enjoying the Taiyaki, we decided to walk around the non-food area, and I even spent money on Spy x Family stickers.
Super Crispy Fried Pork Belly
It's lechong kawali! Lechong Kawali is Filipino fried crispy pork belly, which is what we got. Now, I need some rice and Mang Tomas. Unfortunately, they're out of the Lechon sauce, so we chose the okonomiyaki flavour instead.
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| Okonomiyaki Super Crispy Fried Pork Belly |
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I ate a lot of food today, yet I don't feel food coma. Of course, it helps that we walked around and stood up the whole time we ate. We also maximized our time here. We arrived at 7:00 PM and left after 10:00 PM (the market closed at 11:00 PM). Three hours of walking and eating makes me happy.
Afterwards, we walked to the Sky Train and went straight home. Tea would be lovely before going to bed, but I don't think we have any caffeine-free tea at home, so here I am, trying really hard to stay awake to finish this post.
I'll come back again next year, maybe earlier in the season, so I can map out and black all the food stalls at the Richmond Market. It'll be a fun project to undertake.
